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A28
commentary
Guardian www.guardian.co.tt Monday, February 9, 2015
T&T is famous for being at
the forefront of sea turtle
protection and for the delicious
bake and shark. But what if
eating shark puts turtles at
risk?
Healthy reefs need sharks to
create ecosystem balance. Even
turtle populations can cause
problems when they do not
have predators to keep them in
check.
T&T banned the hunting of
marine turtles in 2011 but what
effect can this have on a wider
marine ecosystem in which
sharks are driven to extinction?
This question struck a cord
with me after a dive at Mac-
queripe Bay, in the proposed
Tucker Valley National Park,
Chaguaramas.
Within a relatively small area
I saw five turtles---two critically
endangered hawksbill turtles
(Eretmochelys imbricate) and
three endangered green sea
turtles (Chelonia mydas).
Only one hawksbill was an
adult. It a kept a weary dis-
tance, a result of pre-ban tur-
tle hunting by spear fishermen.
The other four observed tur-
tles had probably never experi-
enced life before the hunting
ban.
None of them had ever faced
the business end of a spear so
fearless of humans they showed
no avoidance behaviour. It
seems that there is strong pop-
ulation growth.
Will there be a time that
there will too many turtles for
the bay to support and will the
absence of sharks then become
a problem?
Sea turtle conservation has
been successful throughout
much of the Atlantic area.
Simple conservation efforts
like protecting turtles and tur-
tle nesting beaches, the ban-
ning of gill nets and the intro-
duction of Turtle Exclusion
Devices (TEDs) has resulted in
a growth rate of between 4-16
per cent for the green sea tur-
tle population.
Green sea turtles are mostly
herbivorous. Seagrass beds are
like the meadows of the ocean.
Grazing sea turtles eat large
amounts of seagrass. Histori-
cally they played an important
role in maintaining healthy
seagrass beds by pruning the
seagrass canopy and preventing
the build-up of dead matter.
Green sea turtles were nearly
hunted to extinction by
humans and a knock on effect
of their plummeting numbers
may have been the mass die-
off of seagrasses in the 20th
century.
Seagrass meadows offer
important ecosystem services
like habitat for many fish
species and carbon sequestra-
tion.
Sea turtle numbers have
bounced back in Bermuda.
It is a conservation success
but one that throws up a new
challenge as sea turtles are
overgrazing the seagrass beds.
Some seagrass beds have
been completely destroyed.
The problem is that sea tur-
tles are being reintroduced to
an ecosystem that is completely
altered by humans.
Humans aside, sharks are the
main turtle predators.
But overfishing has decimat-
ed their numbers and up to 25
per cent of shark species are in
danger of extinction by the
year 2050.
Tiger sharks used to keep sea
turtle numbers in balance, but
they are now near threatened
themselves.
Pew Charitable Trust, based
in Washington DC, is at the
forefront of worldwide shark
conservation and a major driver
behind the establishment of
shark sanctuaries.
Pew s Angelo Villagomez
explained to me that: "There
was a study recently by Dr
Mike Heithaus showing sharks
regulate the behaviour of tur-
tles, which in turn benefits the
ecosystem.
If there are no sharks, the
turtles can overgraze seagrass
beds, which can be important
breeding and pupping grounds
for fish, as well as carbon
sinks."
Tiger sharks do more than
just limit turtle numbers. They
also alter their behaviour by
influencing where turtles graze.
In the absence of sharks tur-
tles will choose to graze the
tastiest, most nutritious sea
grass beds, which become
overgrazed and then destroyed.
When tiger sharks are in the
area turtles behaviour is influ-
enced by fear. They spend less
time in the most desirable sea-
grass areas and do not over-
graze.
In order to protect sea turtles
we must protect sea turtle
habitat.
Protecting sea turtle habitat
means protecting the sharks
that are turtles main predator.
Predators do not only affect
numbers and health of prey,
they also influence habitat, like
seagrass beds.
Thisisinnowayacallto
cull sea turtle numbers. Marine
turtles are still faced with the
threat of extinction.
Sea turtle recovery will take
many decades or longer. If the
population is to recover to
healthy levels we need to pro-
tect the different parts of the
ecosystem with which sea tur-
tles interact.
T&T is the number six
exporter of shark fin to Hong
Kong. This makes T&T a global
player in the demise of sharks.
This trade must be halted.
Bake and shark is a national
food, a culinary delight for
which locals and visitors travel
to Maracas beach. It is a tradi-
tion, but traditions must
change when they become
unsustainable.
Please enjoy a sustainable
alternative like bake and flying
fish or bake and cheese. T&T
tradition is eating delicious
food, not eating endangered
species.
Tiger shark PHOTO BY JIM ABERNETHY, PROVIDED BY PEW CHARITABLE TRUST
BAKE AND SHARK A THREAT TO TURTLE CONSERVATION
MARC DE VERTEUIL
marc@papaboisconservation.org
TOMORROW
LISA ALLEN
AGOSTINI
DR DAVID BRATT